


Some Things

by Katie_Flint



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katie_Flint/pseuds/Katie_Flint
Summary: Life after the war is not quite what they expected, but in some ways, things haven't really changed all that much...
Relationships: Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25
Collections: Avatar Rarepair Exchange 2021





	Some Things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unacaritafeliz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unacaritafeliz/gifts).



> Before reading this I feel I must confess that I have never had the pleasure of writing ATLA content before, and I can say it was quite a struggle to try and get into it as I sought to find my voice. I hope that the end result isn't too odd. I really enjoy this throuple and I did my best to feature each of them throughout the story in an equal way. I hope you enjoy it in some regard!

Life after the war is something Suki never quite expected. 

As a girl, her future had seemed obvious if not blatantly unpleasant. The hundred year war was grinding its way across the Earth Kingdom with a painful inevitability. Picking up her fans meant that Suki and her generation of warriors would be the last line of defense for their beloved island against a tyrannical lord across the seas. And when they were gone, so too would be the way of life for the Kyoshi warrior. 

It was a grim and unforgiving expectation for herself, one which feels almost surreal to her these days. Striding across the tiled floors of the Fire Lord’s palace, Suki greets the imperial guards by rank and name. All of whom have spent rigorous months of recruitment training with her and her warriors to ensure both their skill and their loyalty to the newly anointed Fire Lord. 

“As you were,” Suki nods approvingly.

There is a slight smile which she stifles until she is turned away from them. It would not do to show them too much praise least they might forget their vigilance, or so she tells herself. 

Still, Suki cannot help but feel a deep sense of pride in her work here in the Fire Nation. It is not just the sculpted palace walls or the carefully crafted views which make this place a sight to behold, it is the people living within it. By her hand, the imperial guard has been restructured and reequipped with new and innovative techniques derived from her training as a Kyoshi Warrior; transforming them into an unprecedented talent. 

Here, within the walls of her former enemies, the art of the Kyoshi warrior has not perished, but has flourished in a most delightful way; a way that leaves Suki not just hopeful about the future, but eager for it. 

—

When Zuko was younger, he was convinced he would be Fire Lord one day. 

This was a fact as obvious as the changing of the royal guard and as certain as the annual performances of the Ember Island Theater troupe. 

What he could not have imagined however, would be the path he would have to take to get to the throne… Or who he would be when he got there. 

Sitting at his desk, Zuko looks at his reflection in the body of his inkwell container. He looks aged, not just by the beard filling in along his jaw, but by the look in his eyes. Often throughout his teenage years, Zuko could not find it within himself to meet his own gaze for too long. There was a rage inside of him that wanted to lash out at everyone, himself most of all. 

Looking at himself today however, Zuko notes his reflection with the regard one would show an old friend. He can see the tired bags under his eyes and the misplaced hairs which had fallen out of his bun throughout the work day. But rather than despise such weakness, he fells contented by it. Zuko has spent his day reforming laws and passing decrees to help his people and those beyond his nation. 

This is not the work he had set out to do, nor what he had once envisioned for himself, but Zuko is not the person he once was. And for this, he is grateful. His reign as Fire Lord is utterly different than what he had thought he had wanted before the end of the war, and in many ways, Zuko is certain is is not necessarily the easier path to have chosen. 

Zuko smiles softly at the reflection, returning to his duties with a dogged persistence.

—

Sokka’s path after the war ends is less obvious to him than others, at first. 

Growing up, he had always envisioned himself a mighty chief as many people in his family before him had been. And in truth, he likely would have made a rather good one, but at heart Sokka has always been an inventor. And a world recovering from a century of conflict is in dire need of a lot of innovative assistance. 

In Sokka fashion of course, he sets sail with an overabundance of confidence, assuming most of his time will be spent in the tribes or with the towns of the Earth Kingdom. Which makes it quite the shock to discover just how much time he finds himself consumed within the heart of the Fire Nation. What he had failed to consider, was just how much knowledge the nation would have to offer its neighbors and newly anointed allies. 

The Fire Nation is a treasure trove of technology and Sokka absorbs all its knowledge with a ravenous hunger like he’s never known. Inventions that seem like far fetched fantasy in other parts of the world are common place items for many Fire Nation citizens and Sokka vows to not only share them with the rest of the world, but to distribute them.

There is a tension from some citizens of the fire nation, a fear of loosing their upper hand, but Sokka is passionate in his work and persistent in his efforts. Additionally, as it turns out, it helps to know the Fire Lord personally in cases such as this.

From Southern Water tribesman to world renown inventor and problem solver, Sokka feels as though he’s managed more than his share of life times in his measly twenty something years. He can’t imagine what the future decades will offer, but Sokka can already sense that he’s going to give Aang a run for his money before all is said and done. 

—

There is one change following the end of the war that doesn’t quite manage to surprise the three of them. 

Perhaps it’s because they are the only members of the avatar’s company to remain in the Fire Nation, or perhaps it’s because to the intimate nature of their work, but there is a bond which entangles itself between the three of them that seems to slip in almost unnoticed. 

Almost.

Suki enters Sokka’s modest living quarters one evening to find scrolls bouncing excitedly off the sides of the drawing table and an eager exchange of ideas being tossed across the room. Approaching the table with familiarity, she greets Sokka first with a gentle kiss to the cheek before gently pressing her side against Zuko’s, encapsulating him in a hug. 

It’s scandalously informal, but within these walls, the three of them aren’t just guards or lords or inventors; they’re themselves. And that’s really how it all takes shape. 

When Suki is without her face paint, she can relax and laugh at the way Zuko drops his food when he’s eating and engrossed in a story. When she doesn’t have her fans attached to her belt, Suki can recline with Sokka on the sofa and listen to him discuss the next big trip he’d like to take when they get the Gaang back together again. 

There are times when things are serious, but more often than not, Suki finds their evenings spent together are incredibly silly and filled with more laughter than not. After all, the demands of the day are often anything but pleasant for the three; even if they do make the best of them. 

Suki knows she’s not the only one to notice this shift in their dynamic over the years in the palace. 

For Zuko, the casual affection still leaves him feeling stark and stiff from time to time, but he clearly relishes in the moments when he can unwind and simply enjoy being. There are not many in the palace who can look at him and see the person beyond the face of the Fire Lord. Suki and Sokka, they ground Zuko to the person he was before he ascended to the throne. And often times, they humble him with their talent and their propensity for the unexpected. 

And Sokka is, certainly unexpected. 

He’s not always around, but his presence in the castle never seems far away. More than once Suki has had the misfortune of finding a wayward invention- or more accurately a contraption- lurking around the halls. It’s startling but, but when all is said and done, she can’t help but laugh at it. Sokka would never admit it, but he does it on purpose. It’s comforting to know he has more than one family waiting for him around the globe, but he also knows he can’t always be there for each of them. Some hijinks while he’s away are the least he can do. Zuko swears he isn’t nearly as amused by them, but Sokka sees the smile that toys at the corners of his face whenever he tells Sokka off. 

None of them are the children they were a decade ago, but thanks to one and other they are still the same caring people they had become during those formative years. To the untrained eye, it may not have been have been much, but for the three of them it has made a world of difference.


End file.
